Kerry: Threat posed by the Iranian regime is bigger than of ISIS

                  

In an interview with Fox News U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that the Iranian regime with its nuclear program presents a threat that is bigger than the kind of threat that ISIS presents.

Mr. Kerry made the remarks in an interview in Jaddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 11, when he was asked that whether he agrees with Henry Kissinger when recently said that the Iranian regime poses a more dangerous threat to America and its national security interest than ISIS does.

Secretary Kerry said: "Iran obviously, with its nuclear program, presents an extraordinary threat, and it’s bigger than the kind of threat that ISIS presents, which is why we are dealing with Iran."

"But as Henry Kissinger knows better than any human being in the world, you don’t have the luxury of choosing to deal with only one very significant challenge."

"He’s correct; a nuclear program, a nuclear weapon potential in the hands of Iran, is item number one on the President’s agenda. But that’s precisely why the President began this negotiation many months ago. ISIS or ISIL, however you want to call it, is a real and immediate danger and it needs to be taken out now, not later."

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said an interview on September 6 that the Iranian regime "is a bigger problem than ISIS." because Iran has a stronger footing in the Middle East, it has a greater opportunity to create an empire under the Shiite label in that region."

In the interview with NPR t, Kissinger said "I consider Iran a bigger problem than ISIS. ISIS is a group of adventurers with a very aggressive ideology. But they have to conquer more and more territory before they can became a strategic, permanent reality. I think a conflict with ISIS — important as it is — is more manageable than a confrontation with Iran."